Playing The Perhaps Game

When I post a new article on this blog it gives me a subscriber count. It is the only hard information I have. Since I like to set goals, I use the subscriber number as a way of monitoring progress. Today, the number is 144 and I am pleased. Perhaps it will be 150 tomorrow.

Of course, the number the computer gives me is simply an indication that the readership is growing. I have quite a few people tell me they enjoy the blog and read it often but they do not subscribe. On the other hand, one subscriber I know thinks I post about every two weeks so she is obviously not a consistent reader.

Despite the subscriber numbers, writing a blog is an act of faith. Is the blog in the room if there’s no one there to read it? I think of it as casting my wisdom upon the waters and I know that it returns to me pressed down and multiplied. I have learned a lot about my life wisdom by writing this blog.

I do thank all you who are reading this article. Your support means a great deal to me. I also thank you in advance for telling your friends about it. Better yet – forward them your favorite blog so they’ll get a taste of my writing style. I do want as many readers as possible.

The number of people who read a blog is not the most important thing. Of course the more readers, the better but integrity is important. So is the impact on others lives. I am writing this blog, usually twice a week, because it is a convenient way to share some of what I know about using spiritual principles to live a better life.

I write it for real people and I try to tell the truth about who I am, what I know, where I came from, and where I want to be. I hope it is helpful to real people who can use a friendly word. After all, I have learned a few things in the last 79 years and one of the things I’ve learned is that we are all connected to each other in ways we do not fully understand. But we really are connected.

There was a time when it was easier for me to see differences than the ways in which we are alike. As I have learned more about spiritual principles, I have learned to see God in myself and in others. In fact, one of my favorite little spiritual exercises is to imagine that I see God in the people I pass in the grocery store lanes. The God I see is not an old man dropped down from the sky and sitting on someone’s shoulder. If it has a form that form is light surrounding the outlines of his or her body.

Most of the time, I don’t see light, I just imagine I see light and that works as well for me. God gave us a wonderful power when She gave us imagination. I like to use it so it will be an even stronger power as I practice. I can imagine many things when I remind myself that God lives in each and every one of us and that God is unlimited.

I may not be able to imagine myself as unlimited but I can certainly imagine stretching the boundaries of my belief system. There was a time when it was difficult to imagine being able to write a blog twice a week. Perhaps I wouldn’t feel up to it. Perhaps no one would read it. Perhaps I wouldn’t have the time.

All I had to do was keep the Perhaps and rewrite the rest of the sentence. It’s simple. Take Perhaps and add what you want. Imagine that you can do it. Perhaps I will enjoy writing a blog. Perhaps I will have at least 500 subscribers soon. Perhaps it won’t take much time.

The trick to using imagination is to make sure that what you put behind the perhaps part of the sentence is something you want. Perhaps you can make that a spiritual exercise for a few days. Perhaps you will enjoy the exercise. Perhaps you will stretch your imagination. Perhaps you will benefit.

Here’s how to do it.

Take a worry – Any worry. For instance, “Perhaps I will not lose this weight.” Write it down.

Now cross it out with vehemence. Write a hopeful phrase. “Perhaps the weight will come off easily.”

That’s the way to play the game. You can do it with crayons, pencils, on a computer or in your mind. The greatest part of the exercise is always the same four steps:

Like this:

4 Comments on “Playing The Perhaps Game”

Your blogs always seem to hit a spot with me that needs hitting. It’s too easy to judge by appearances and I need to remind myself to see God in everyone with whom I come into casual contact. What do I think when I see the men from Mexico standing hopefully by the street side looking for work? Or the bag lady with her pathetic little bundles? I try to remember that each of them is also an individualized expression of God.

Dear Jane, You are always so kind and thoughtful I am sure you think the right things with love in your heart whenever you see someone on the street who looks as if he or she is down and out. It is good to see them as God’s children rather than just pitiful. In my years in Mexico, I learned to see those men on the street corners as family men who were doing what they thought they could to lift their families up and out of poverty. There are whole villages down there that were built with money sent home from those street corner jobs. I often bless people silently who I suspect may need a lift. Remember that your thoughts – especially the loving ones – are pebbles with a wide influence in the river of life. You are Love!

I happened upon your blog by accident. And remind myself…there are no accidents! I love your blog! This article in particular, I love. This blog post speaks to how I have been living, or attempting to live, my life for the past 7 years.
Thank you for sharing! I will be back!

Welcome Christine, I am so happy your “accidntal happening” brought us together. It looks as if we are on the same page in many ways so I hope you will subscribe and comment from time to time. I look forward to knowing your better.